Brasil registra el mayor aumento diario en la tasa de mortalidad por coronavirus

Brasil ha registrado su mayor aumento diario en las tasas de mortalidad por coronavirus en el país, funcionarios de salud dicen.

Se registró 881 nuevas muertes el martes, el ministerio de salud dijo. El total de muertos ahora se sitúa en 12,400.

Un miembro de la Guardia Civil Municipal verifica la temperatura de un peatón en la ciudad de Niterói

Significa brasil, que está en el centro del brote latinoamericano, ahora es el sexto país más afectado en términos de muertes registradas.

And experts say the real figure may be far higher due to a lack of testing in the country.

“Brazil is only testing people who end up in the hospital,” Domingo Alves from the University of Säo Paulo Medical School told AFP news agency.

“It’s hard to know what’s really happening based on the available data,” él dijo. “We don’t have a real policy to manage the outbreak.”

Mr Alves is one of the authors of a study that estimated the real number of infections was 15 times higher than the official figure.

The number of confirmed cases in the country currently stands at 177,589, officials say. It rose by more than 9,000 on Tuesday and overtook Germany’s tally of 170,000.

Brazil’s total is second only to the US in the Western Hemisphere. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (QUIEN) says the Americas are currently at the centre of the pandemic.

The outbreak is expected to accelerate over the coming weeks, los expertos dicen, and there are fears the pandemic could overwhelm Brazil’s health system.

But far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus and criticised governors and mayors for adopting strict restrictions to curb its spread.

Earlier this week, he issued a decree that classified businesses such as gyms and hairdressers as “essential” services that are exempt from lockdowns. But at least 10 governors said they would not comply with the order.

“Governors who do not agree with the decree can file lawsuits in court,” Mr Bolsonaro wrote on social media.

It comes after researchers said the first recorded coronavirus-related death in Brazil happened almost two months earlier than previously thought.

Scientists at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation said that molecular tests suggested one patient who died in Rio de Janeiro between 19 y 25 January had Covid-19.

The scientists also said their research suggested the virus was being spread from person to person in Brazil in early February – weeks before the country’s popular carnival street parties kicked off.

El ministro de Salud, Nelson Teich, dijo que necesitaba más información antes de poder comentar sobre la investigación realizada por la Fundación Oswaldo Cruz., que ha sido publicado en línea pero aún no ha sido revisado por pares.

Si se confirma, los casos cambiarían considerablemente la línea de tiempo de cómo se propagó el virus en Brasil.

Crédito:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52644339